Spring Cleaning - Pantry Raid

I've been over on our grocery budget for the last couple of months - just a few dollars here or there adds up quickly!  This didn't used to be a problem for me but I think I've become a little lax in keeping track because the end of the semester was really busy.  But it isn't the end of the semester anymore - its almost summer! and I need to get all the old meat out of the freezer and all the old canned goods out of the cupboard to make room for new stuff!  (Not to mention we're really hoping to move soon and I don't want to move a bunch of food).

So, I started menu-planning again (I took a break from this during exams) and picking meals based primarily on what we have in the house already.  This way, we're using up old food and my grocery list is really short.  For example, today I went shopping and bought: an onion and some gruyere cheese.

Here's what we've been eating:

1. Cinnamon Banana-Applesauce muffins: used up flour, really old bananas, and last year's homemade applesauce; bought: nothing
2. Cream of Asparagus Soup: used up last year's canned asparagus that we almost dumped!, chicken stock, and shallots that were starting to sprout, half & half; bought: lemon $1
3. Salmon-Quinoa salad: used canned salmon that we've had since 2010, quinoa, chicken stock;  bought: cucumbers - $1
4. Yukon & Sweet Potato Gratin: used old potatoes, half & half, herbs from the garden; bought: 1/3 lb. gruyere - $3
5. Four-bean salad: used last year's canned green beans (1 can left!), old garbanzo beans, dried kidney & black beans, the rest of the red wine vinegar from the co-op; bought: onion $1
6. Lamb Stroganoff: used ground lamb from freezer, last of the sour cream, chicken stock, carrots (we have so many carrots), boxed pasta; bought: red wine $16 (but will be used in so much more)
7. Seeded Wheat Crackers: used poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, flours; bought: nothing